Articles by Grist staff

Bye, Local

Organic farmers in U.S. losing business to foreign growers Organic is seen as a niche that helps smaller American farmers endure, but a sizeable chunk of the organic foods sold in the U.S. are being sourced from overseas suppliers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that as much as $1.5 billion of organic food was […]

Beswitched

Jeb Bush’s switcheroo on drilling causes rift in Florida delegation Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is backing a bill in the House of Representatives that would open some new federal waters, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico, to oil rigs — and in so doing, he’s fractured the state’s long-standing bipartisan political consensus against offshore […]

Dirty Seeds Done Dirt Cheap

World’s 10 largest seed sellers control half the global market Seeds are at the core of almost everything humans eat — that’s why the tightening grip of seed-selling corporations is so worrisome. The world’s 10 largest seed-hawkers now control about half the global market, and its top three are among the world’s largest pesticide purveyors […]

Tar Nation

Canada’s oil sands boom for business, bust for environment We have seen our energy future, and it’s very, very dirty. By some estimates, the oil sands of northern Alberta, Canada, contain 175 billion barrels of crude, reserves second only to Saudi Arabia’s. Problem is, getting usable oil out of the tarry, sticky sand requires clearing […]